This webinar explored messages and actions that promote equality and justice as core values for children, as well as how to create an environment where children learn to value diversity and resist prejudice and discrimination.
Presenters Carol Edwards (below left) and Brandy Hudson (below right) of the Youth Law Center shared guidelines grounded in developmental research, and illustrated with powerful personal examples, for how caregivers can assist children in appreciating their own racial identity and adopting an anti-racist worldview. Below are some takeaways:
On fundamental principles: “Children really deserve to see themselves as beautiful, capable, and powerful enough to reach their full potential. Children must feel loved, valued, safe, and protected.” – Carol Edwards
On embracing, nurturing, and celebrating identity: “It’s important to work to develop your [foster] child’s cultural identity and pride. They are separated from their families, so… they may be in a different school, in a different community, not have same access to their culture and heritage… if they’re disconnected from those things that they associate with their culture and heritage, it’s more important than ever for you to do the work of reconnecting them to those experiences and opportunities.” – Brandy Hudson
On living congruently and modeling your values: “It’s really about walking your values and having your actions align with your words. It can be easy to have conversations with your children about how ‘difference is beautiful’ and ‘everyone is equal,’ but if you are treating people differently, if you don’t have the same respect for different groups of people, if your children witness you being condescending to a certain group of people and not others, then they’ll start to get subliminal messages about the value of different people… We have to constantly be conscious of what we say, how we show up, the way we respect others.” – Brandy Hudson
On encouraging curiosity: “Kids are trying to figure out what skin color means, but I find that we put the lid on and we say ‘You can’t ask that question.’ [Young white children] would come up to me and I’d feel them start to rub my skin and then look at their hands to see if it came off because they didn’t know what I was made of. The parents turned different colors of embarrassment and humiliation, and I was feeling like, ‘Wow, what an insightful kid! That curiosity, I’m glad they noticed that part of who I am. Now let’s talk about what it means.’” – Carol Edwards
On preparing children of color: “You have to prepare children to go into the world safely as a person of color. We know through current and historical events that it is not always easy, there is danger, there are things like police brutality and discrimination and being followed in stores… It’s your role as a caregiver to prepare them for those experiences and to keep them safe, but at the same time, be preparing them to be an advocate and a change agent and a fighter for equality.” – Brandy Hudson
This part one webinar originally aired on July 14th, 2020.
Part Two (August 2020) was dedicated to answering questions about supporting children to appreciate their own racial identity and adopting an anti-racist worldview. Here are some key takeaways:
- Speak clearly about your position on current issues. State clearly what you value and believe about racial justice and equality.
- Resist getting sidetracked by defensiveness, denial, anger, and guilt.
- Develop a family antiracism plan with action steps.
- Pay attention to good news, without downplaying other events.
- Resist “colorblind” analogies and expressions – skin color is a beautiful part of a person’s identity.